42 | www.PetfoodIndustry.com
Raw, lightly cooked,
extruded dog foods alter
gut bacteria
Dogs fed either extruded, raw or lightly cooked dog foods ended up with
different species of bacteria in their feces.
BY TIM WALL
In an experiment, dogs fed either
extruded, raw or lightly cooked dog foods
ended up with different species of bacteria
and other organisms in their feces. Those
results give clues about how raw types of
diets influence dog health, digestion and the
community of organisms, called microbiota,
in dogs' intestines.
"Not surprisingly, given how the chemical composition, level of processing and
nutrient digestibility among diets differed,
the extruded diet was quite different than
the mildly cooked and raw diets," study
co-author Kelly Swanson, professor of
Results of an experiment give clues
about how raw types of diets
influence dog health, digestion and
the microbiota in dogs' intestines.
animal and nutritional sciences at the
University of Illinois, told Petfood Industry.
The Journal of Animal Science published the
results.
However, differences in microbiota
did not seem to influence dog health.
Throughout the replications of the 28-day
experiment, eight dogs dined on one of four
commercially available dog foods:
■ Freshpet Vital Balanced Complete Nutrition -
lightly cooked
■ Freshpet Roasted Meals - lightly cooked
■ Freshpet Vital Raw - raw
■ Purina Dog Chow - extruded
All of the animals remained
healthy regardless of which dog
food brand or type they ate.
Fecal metabolites (leftovers from
the dogs' digestion and energy
production) were similar across
the three diets. Swanson said
animal nutritionists still need
more long-term studies to look
for any health differences among
extruded, lightly cooked and raw
dog foods.
Dog food's relationship to gut
microbes
"There are many factors
that affect the gut microbiota,
including genetics, age, health
image by Paolo Airenti, BigStockPhoto
October 2017
Industry